Woven of the World

Starred review from December 19, 2022
“Clack. Clack. Swish—pull back.” Howes (A Poem Grows Inside You) and Mirtalipova (Leila in Saffron) explore the technology of weaving across space and time. Inventive spreads feature a patient elder and an affectionate child, both portrayed with brown skin, and a playful blue cat alongside a loose chronology of weaving: “I imagine skeins of history/ unfurled across the room—/ wrapping me in warm tradition, crossing borders, spanning years,/ as the clack then swish of loom song/ carries stories to my ears.” Foregrounding decorative patterns and rounded human forms, Mirtalipova paints garments and textiles woven by artisans across China, Egypt, the Islamic civilization Al-Andalus, and many more. Meanwhile, the elder teaches the child how to weave, passing “much more than yarn between us/ as the loaded shuttle glides.” Paralleling the intricate patterns discussed, Howes’s rhythmically woven verse layers poetry and onomatopoeia. The beauty of decoration and embellishment, the multiplicity of practices, and the way knowledge is passed across generations and cultures are all celebrated in this story “of ties that bind us, one and all,/ no matter where we stand.” Back matter includes a visual weaving glossary and contextualizes the weaving cultures described. Ages 5–8. Author’s agent: Essie White, Storm Literary. Illustrator’s agent: Chrystal Falcioni, Magnet Reps.

January 1, 2023
"Click. Clack. / Swish -- / pull back. / Bobbin and heddle, / foot pedal, no slack." A rhyming, rhythmic text, meant to mimic the sounds of a modern floor loom, uses a child's first-person voice to explore the practice of weaving through history, highlighting some of the many cultures practicing this art. From page to page, with weaving as the through line, a child toys with the yarn, making connections and imagining her way around the world (beginning with China and the silkworm) while her elder works at the loom, turning the story into a metaphorical global tapestry. Gouache illustrations in contrasting reds and blues play with the ideas and concepts mentioned in the text in a fanciful way. The girl and her cat peek out from behind pottery featuring Egyptian settings, the text chanting, "It sings of flaxen fibers spun / by fingers deft and proud -- / threads destined for a dancer's robes / or for a pharaoh's shroud." While readers would need to have a firm understanding of world history to recognize all the visual and textual cues, extensive back matter expands on each cultural tradition and the time period. Author and illustrator notes include details about their intentions and research in this broad sweep of appreciation and respect for the craft of handmade textiles across cultures. Julie Roach

(Copyright 2023 by The Horn Book, Incorporated, Boston. All rights reserved.)

Starred review from March 1, 2023

Gr 2-4-Our lives are woven from the many threads that come to form the tapestry that is our unique story as we live our days. In rhythmic and lyrical language and engaging illustrations, this book takes a historical journey around the globe celebrating the art of weaving. The main text barely hints at the sound of the warp and the weft, the threads and the fabric, while the pictures begin to hint at silk weaving in ancient China, then Egyptian elements, and so on, a journey through the world and time as weaving changes. A young protagonist in each scene slowly develops their own understanding that their life is woven together from the many threads that entwine through family, culture, and history to form their life. This young protagonist appears with an elder weaver in each scene, uniting that part of the story. Back matter provides a country-by-country breakdown of weaving traditions that are further explained. In addition to enlightening readers to the various weaving traditions, illustrations in natural tones featuring a whimsical blue cat connect the various cultures and create a sense of uniqueness in each culture and time that simultaneously connects the humanity of weavers and cultures. VERDICT A wonderful introduction to the variety of weaving traditions, this title would be an ideal way to begin a unit on fiber arts in a classroom, or for readers to examine their own cultural backgrounds to explore their unique origins. Recommended.-John Scott

Copyright 2023 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

Starred review from December 1, 2022
Intelligent rhymes and handsome folk-art patterns spin a global story of weaving through the millennia. The narrative opens as an adult in a long black dress invites a child clothed in red (both are brown-skinned and blue-haired) to listen to the loom: "Clack. Clack. / Swish-- / PULL BACK. / Bobbin and heddle, / foot pedal, no slack." (Specialized vocabulary is defined and illustrated in a glossary.) The characters' presence throughout, along with that of a playful blue cat, adds a personal dimension. Describing the loom's "song" ("skeins of history / unfurled across the room..."), the text is told in first person, presented in an ABCB rhyme scheme with an appropriately lilting rhythm. A limited but vibrant gouache palette of black, blue, orange/rust/brown, forest green, and white depicts weavers throughout history and cultures--we see portrayals of the craft on Chinese porcelain, Egyptian pottery, Moorish carpets, and more. Delicate spot line art contrasts with rich color on double-page spreads for a pleasing variety. Author and artist convey technical and functional information about weaving as well as the sense of community experienced by weavers and the stories and spirit incorporated into their pieces. Ending in the third person plural, Howes speaks of the beauty, purpose, and strength of the textiles and of those who create and appreciate them: "We all are tapestries... / lifelines interlacing...." (This book was reviewed digitally.) An exceptional ode to the music and art of the loom. (author's and illustrator's notes, historical and cultural information on weaving) (Informational picture book. 5-9)

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January 1, 2023
"Click. Clack. / Swish -- / pull back. / Bobbin and heddle, / foot pedal, no slack." A rhyming, rhythmic text, meant to mimic the sounds of a modern floor loom, uses a child's first-person voice to explore the practice of weaving through history, highlighting some of the many cultures practicing this art. From page to page, with weaving as the through line, a child toys with the yarn, making connections and imagining her way around the world (beginning with China and the silkworm) while her elder works at the loom, turning the story into a metaphorical global tapestry. Gouache illustrations in contrasting reds and blues play with the ideas and concepts mentioned in the text in a fanciful way. The girl and her cat peek out from behind pottery featuring Egyptian settings, the text chanting, "It sings of flaxen fibers spun / by fingers deft and proud -- / threads destined for a dancer's robes / or for a pharaoh's shroud." While readers would need to have a firm understanding of world history to recognize all the visual and textual cues, extensive back matter expands on each cultural tradition and the time period. Author and illustrator notes include details about their intentions and research in this broad sweep of appreciation and respect for the craft of handmade textiles across cultures.

(Copyright 2023 by The Horn Book, Incorporated, Boston. All rights reserved.)